Cultivating in the Mountains

Half-man-high withered yellow mugwort stood stiffly in the wind.

When the giant gray wolf stepped down, patches of mugwort snapped and collapsed. It circled the Fragrant Bait Pill a few times, trampling the mugwort into a flat patch of ground.

"The Iron-Back Gray Wolf isn't very intelligent. It can't figure out why the Fragrant Bait Pill emits such a strong meaty scent; it's far too different from the food it's familiar with..."

Zhu Qiniang whispered into Gao Xian's ear to explain. Gao Xian felt as if her voice were being transmitted through earbuds—clear, yet distinctly separate from the ambient sounds of the environment.

He had no idea how Zhu Qiniang managed this; it must have been some kind of secret technique.

Just as Gao Xian was about to speak, Zhu Qiniang pressed down on his shoulder. Her slender fingers were incredibly strong, and Gao Xian immediately understood her intent, hurriedly snapping his mouth shut.

"The Iron-Back Gray Wolf is a demonic beast with extremely keen senses of smell, hearing, and sight. You don't know the Sound Transmission Technique, and if you open your mouth, you'll easily be heard by that beast."

Zhu Qiniang continued, "You don't need to be afraid. With your speed, it's hard for the Iron-Back Gray Wolf to touch you. You also have the Azure Wood Armor. Relying on the Wood Shield, you can even go head-to-head with it for a while."

"Rest assured, if you truly encounter danger, I will intervene."

Zhu Qiniang was full of confidence, as if she could resolve the Iron-Back Gray Wolf with a single move, yet Gao Xian felt a bit uneasy.

If he couldn't kill such a massive creature instantly, his own life would be hanging by a thread.

Just as Gao Xian hesitated on how to decline, Zhu Qiniang gave him a firm push on his back, and Gao Xian plummeted straight down from the pine tree, which stood several zhang high.

Fortunately, his physical fitness was now superb; he reacted instantly, naturally adjusting his posture in mid-air.

Upon landing, he slightly bent his knees, naturally dissipating the force exerted on his body.

Gao Xian was quite satisfied with his reaction. Falling passively from a height of nearly ten meters and managing to do this proved that he had made significant progress.

This also gave him a bit more confidence; although the wolf was huge, he wasn't a pushover either.

Dozens of paces away, the Iron-Back Gray Wolf spotted Gao Xian instantly. It was very familiar with humans as a food source and charged toward him without the slightest hesitation.

The Iron-Back Gray Wolf was large and ran extremely fast. It covered the distance of dozens of paces in less than two breaths, reaching Gao Xian.

Gao Xian felt as if a car traveling at 120 miles per hour was crashing toward him. His heart tightened into a knot, his mind went blank from the sheer tension, and his muscles tensed up accordingly.

Fortunately, his Lightning Dragon Hand had reached the Grandmaster level, granting him terrifyingly fast reflexes.

Even while Gao Xian was overly tense, he could still clearly see the Iron-Back Gray Wolf's movements, the fierce glint flickering in its emerald eyes, and its long fur fluttering in the wind.

Both have emerald eyes, but Qiniang's eyes are far prettier than the wolf's...

For some reason, such an inappropriate thought suddenly crossed Gao Xian's mind.

Perhaps it was because he realized the Iron-Back Gray Wolf's speed was actually quite slow—at least far slower than his own—allowing his mindset to relax naturally, leaving him time to think of other things.

As Gao Xian calmed down, Zhu Qiniang, up in the pine tree, grew tense. She could see that Gao Xian's muscles were rigid and stiff; it was clear that excessive tension had caused him to lose control of his body.

If Gao Xian didn't block or dodge, given his current physical durability, he would likely be trampled to death by the Iron-Back Gray Wolf.

A giant wolf weighing over two thousand catties charging at high speed possessed terrifying impact force. Even she, with her Primordial Golden Body, would be unwilling to collide head-on with a charging Iron-Back Gray Wolf.

Zhu Qiniang didn't want any accidents to befall Gao Xian. Wisps of cyan lightning flickered between her left hand; the Azure Wood Lightning Spear was already prepared.

This spell was her method for long-range attacks. Enhanced by the Lightning Ring, the power of the lightning was even more potent, and the speed of its manifestation was faster.

Even so, Zhu Qiniang could not cast the Azure Wood Lightning Spear instantly. She had to form seals, chant, and hold the talisman, preparing in advance to trigger the spear in the shortest possible time.

Just as Zhu Qiniang prepared to strike, Gao Xian suddenly sidestepped and drew his sword.

His movement was both precise and swift, just enough to evade the charging Iron-Back Gray Wolf.

The seventeen-pound Stone-Slicing Sword, tucked behind his waist, also left its sheath like a cold, biting streak of light.

The Iron-Back Gray Wolf also sensed the danger; it instinctively ducked its head and changed direction, adjusting its posture.

Gao Xian's sword was far faster than the Iron-Back Gray Wolf. The cold, shimmering edge of the Stone-Slicing Sword whistled through the air, carving a long, deep wound into the wolf's neck as blood sprayed out along with the flash of the blade.

A seventeen-pound blade striking at such high speed possessed terrifying power. At the same time, he triggered the Sharp Metal Rune on the edge of the blade.

With Sister Lan presiding over the formation, triggering the Sharp Metal Rune was simple for Gao Xian—it was as good as instantaneous upon a single thought.

This allowed the sharpness of the Stone-Slicing Sword to be fully unleashed.

The Iron-Back Gray Wolf had thick skin and flesh, enough to withstand ordinary arrows, but it could not block such a fierce and swift strike.

The blade sliced through its fur, muscle, and blood vessels, severing half of its neck.

It let out a miserable howl, collapsed to the ground, and tumbled away, carving a gap through the mugwort and bushes, kicking up a sky full of grass leaves and dust.

The giant, rolling body of the Iron-Back Gray Wolf didn't stop until it slammed into the pine tree.

Zhu Qiniang, standing in the tree, was also filled with astonishment. A moment ago, she had thought Gao Xian was about to be crushed to death, yet in the blink of an eye, the Iron-Back Gray Wolf was lying on the ground.

This massive reversal left her at a loss for words.

She had seen it clearly: Gao Xian's strike was too fast and too ruthless; it was likely that half of the Iron-Back Gray Wolf's neck had been severed.

The Iron-Back Gray Wolf was resilient, however; despite such an injury, it actually managed to struggle to its feet and bolt away.

Gao Xian hesitated for a moment. Given the speed at which the Iron-Back Gray Wolf was running, he could still catch up in the short term, but he wasn't sure how much damage that strike had truly caused.

A cornered beast will still fight; a wounded demonic beast would only become more dangerous.

It was just a big wolf; if it ran, it ran. He didn't care much.

Zhu Qiniang leaped from the tree to Gao Xian's side. She grabbed him and chased in the direction the giant wolf had fled. "Don't just stand there, hurry and chase it!"

"Do we really need to chase it?" Gao Xian lacked any real enthusiasm.

"How could we let prey that's already in our grasp slip away?"

Zhu Qiniang pulled Gao Xian along, quickening her pace as she said, "The hide and meat of an Iron-Back Gray Wolf can sell for twenty spirit stones."

Hearing that it was so valuable, Gao Xian's own pace quickened a fraction, and he asked with a hint of excitement, "It's worth that much?"

"Of course. Iron-Back Gray Wolves are actually quite difficult to kill. Three or five ordinary mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators might not even be able to take one down."

Having said that, Zhu Qiniang offered Gao Xian a compliment: "Your fast sword is truly formidable."

Among the many Qi Refinement cultivators she had encountered, no one could compare to Gao Xian in terms of speed.

What was even more terrifying was that Gao Xian could wield the Stone-Slicing Sword at such speeds, a blade that weighed a full seventeen jin.

She could wield it with more ease and grace, but she was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, just one step away from Foundation Establishment. Under normal circumstances, her strength should be more than ten times that of a beginner-level Qi Refinement cultivator like Gao Xian.

"Is it really that good? I used a bit of a secret technique."

Gao Xian was pleased by the praise, though he had actually held back thirty percent of his strength.

His Grandmaster-level Lightning Dragon Hand granted him extraordinary speed. It was just that the Stone-Slicing Sword was a bit too heavy; if he swung with full force, he wouldn't be able to control his momentum at all.

Using seventy percent of his power allowed him to move the sword at high speeds while maintaining sufficient control.

"It is truly good—exceptionally good."

Zhu Qiniang said with absolute certainty, "Even a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator activating a Wood Shield and a Golden Body Talisman wouldn't be able to withstand that strike of yours!"